


you brought me here

by anserpina



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, MerMay, Merman Lance, Near Death Experience, anxiety mention, broganes, merman hunk, one single bad fish pun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-28
Updated: 2018-05-28
Packaged: 2019-05-15 02:38:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14782082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anserpina/pseuds/anserpina
Summary: When he was eight years old, Keith fell overboard on his brother’s fishing boat. As he plunged into the cold depths, he was rescued... by something not entirely human.Ten years later, he’s hoping to find the elusive mer again.// written for MerMay 2018 //





	you brought me here

“Keith!”

His brother’s booming voice cut through the crashing waves above his head. His boots felt heavy, filled to the brim with water and dragging him further down into the depths of the Atlantic.

“Keith!”

Shiro’s voice was less clear now, muffling more as the waves swelled around his small frame. He tried swimming upward towards his voice, but the rough waters pushed him back and forth, twisting his sense of direction. He could feel the lack of oxygen in his lungs, the burning sensation spreading across his chest and causing him to panic. His pulse was beating throughout his body, loudly and forcefully, the small veins attempting to keep him alive for as long as they could.

“Kei-”

The voice was fading quickly as he descended through the waves. Silence was settling around him, and it was in that moment that Keith knew he was dying. The panic was beginning to subside as he slipped into peaceful submission. He couldn’t see through the murky water as the darkness of the depths enclosed around him. He stopped trying to reach the surface, letting himself drift through the water-

And then felt a tug on his wrist.

Someone was pulling him towards the surface. They were fast, speeding up through the water, and powerful enough not to be weighed down by his near lifeless form. He opened his eyes to peer up at his savior… But wait, no. The person pulling him was a young boy, no older than he was, yet he had the strength of a grown man. Something swished through the water behind the boy, but it moved too fast for Keith to make it out clearly.

They broke through the surface. Shiro’s boat was nowhere to be found, but that didn’t seem to matter as the boy began to swam to the shore. He hit the ground with a thump, sand chafing against his back as he laid and gasped for air.

“Oh,” a melodic voice chimed. “You’re breathing. Perfect.”

Weakly, Keith sat up and faced the boy. He was a few feet away, still floating in the water but hovering close to the shoreline. He stared at Keith curiously, bright blue eyes meeting his own. “Thank you... for saving me,” he breathed. He crawled closer towards the water and the boy hopped backwards through the water.

“Uh… of course! Don’t mention it. Bye now!” He turned abruptly, hurrying around the rocky cliff jutting into the water and disappearing from sight… but not quickly enough.

Because Keith saw it.

A short, vibrant blue, scale-covered tail.

Right where his legs should have been.

He never spoke a word about it, simply telling his brother and the examiners that he had let the current push him towards shore. But he knew the truth.

At eight years old, Keith Kogane had nearly died- and had been saved by a merman.

 

* * *

 

For the last ten years, Keith had joined Shiro on his annual trek to Hamilton, Bermuda. His brother had a knack for fishing and, well, the fish in Bermuda could be traded for some major cash to outlier islands. Keith himself didn’t have any sort of interest or skill when it came to fishing, but it was a good source of income for the two of them, so he mostly just set up the boat his brother used and helped package the fish for trade. Takashi fished his heart out on the crystal clear water of the Caribbean and- luckily for them- usually caught quite the haul of swordfish and marlin for them trade the following week.

About five years prior, Keith had been wandering the market of the island, bored out of his mind. He stopped every few shops to peer inside and take a look around before eventually wandering the cobbled stone streets again. Right before he was about to turn around and head back to the pier, he walked past two sunbathers with beach bags, hurrying towards the entrance of the beach. They were talking animatedly, and as they brushed by him, he happened to make out the words “blue scales” and “bright eyes.” He stopped dead in his tracks before reaching for the closest girl’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Would you mind explaining about the blue scaled creature?”

The young girl glanced at her friend, who merely shrugged. “Sure,” she replied.

They told him of the stories they had heard: local legend, telling of a creature, half man, half fish, with bright blue eyes and somehow, an even brighter blue tail. They called him “Blue Angel” attributed to his royal blue features and his sporadic appearances on the island. As they talked, describing how he would appear only during the middle of the summer, usually near the far side of the beach, near the rocky cliff, the doubt in Keith’s mind slowly melted away.

It was him.

The merman that had saved his life. He was here.

Keith was going to find him. He had to.

So every summer for the last five years, Keith rented a old, groaning rowboat from one of the fishermen on the island and made his way to the caverns of the cliff. He tied his boat to the small pier overlooking the water and walked along the damp cave, hoping to stumble on the creature amongst the rocks rising from the crystal clear water. All to no avail, as the Blue Angel had yet to show up.

“I know you do this every summer,” Shiro started. “But what exactly do you expect to find when you row out to the caverns?”

Keith snorted. “Every year you ask and every year I tell you the same thing. When I find it I’ll-”

“-Tell me, I know, I know,” he finished. He shot a mock glare at his younger brother before ruffling his hair and smiling slightly. Keith frowned and fixed his messy locks before pulling on his favorite hat- a blue baseball cap he got from Shiro that says “I play bass” with a doodle of a fish below it. “You know, kid, I don’t ask a lot of questions. You know I trust you. But you gotta tell me.” He pulled their fishing boat sharply to the left as they approached the pier. “You aren’t up to anything dangerous, right?”

Keith bit his lip anxiously. He hated lying to Shiro, even for the smallest of things, like forgetting to lock the apartment door. But could he really tell his straight and narrow, ex-navy veteran brother about his obsession with the merman who saved his life over ten years ago?

Not likely.

Still, he had to quell Takashi’s fears somehow. “No, Shiro.” He steadied his voice, attempting to stay as close to the truth as possible. “I’m not doing anything that will get me hurt. I swear.” At least, he didn’t think the Blue Angel would hurt him. Hell, he would have died if not for the young mer saving him all those years ago- clearly, he valued Keith’s life at least a little bit.

Shiro nodded teresly, seemingly satisfied with knowing his younger brother was at least attempting to be safe. “Just be careful, kiddo. You don’t know these waters as well as you think you do.” His face darkened a bit, worry lines appearing near his eyes. “We… I can’t have a repeat of last time.”

Keith kicked at his ankles, grinning at the glare Shiro shot at him in return. “I’m not going to fall out of the boat at eighteen, alright?” He pulled the rope to help steer them into the port and nudged his brother’s side. “Give me some credit.”

A laugh rang out from above them. “You boys never know how to play nice, huh?” Elde, the port owner and their longtime friend, jumped from where she was sitting on top of some crates. “I can hear y’all arguing before you even dock here in Hamilton.”

Keith bristled, grabbing his bags and vaulting over the side of the boat. “You can blame Mr. Mom over there,” he replied. He wrapped an arm around Elde’s shoulders as the older woman raised an eyebrow at him. “Tell Takashi that I’m perfectly fine exploring on my own. Please.”

“The kid’s right,” she said, reaching out to grab one of their large storage units. “There’s only four or five sharks that would eat him and his odds of surviving are pretty good.”

  
He groaned and threw his bag down roughly as Shiro inhaled sharply. “Not helping, Elde.”

Elde laughed as she put the storage unit down and adjusted the bandana wrapped around her short, black hair. “Take a joke, land dwellers.” She placed her hand on Keith’s shoulder reassuringly. “You’ll be fine out on these seas.”

Keith placed his hands on his sides and nodded towards his brother. “See, Shiro? I’ll be fine,” he said. He crossed his fingers in a mock salute. “Scout’s honor.”

Shiro leaned against the pillar to the sail and smiled. “Okay, okay. Help me unload this thing,” he said, gesturing at the gear behind him, “then go rent your damn boat.”

Elde laughed at Keith’s resounding eye roll before pushing him towards the ledge. “Come on, get to work. I ain’t got all day.”

 

* * *

 

Perched on one of the flatbed rocks- and hidden from view- Lance watched the fishermen board the dock. The larger man was moving equipment steadily from the boat to the pier and was barely breaking a sweat while doing so. Which, normally, that would capture his attention to the fullest extent… except…

“Why am I not surprised to find you here?” came an all too familiar voice from behind him.

Lance sighed and continued to stare at the boat. “He’s back,” he replied, his voice light and dreamy as he rested his head on the rock and smiled. “It’s the first Friday of the month and he’s back again.”

Hunk shook his head, cautiously gliding towards the rock his friend was hiding behind. “Every year you come up here to wait for him and every year I tell you it’s a horrible idea-”

“And every year, we never get caught,” Lance said. “Chillax, Hunk! Let me have this.” His eyes turned back to the boy leaning against the pillar, watching his brother work, and Lance felt his heart jump just a bit.

He looked good. Better than last year, which was something he didn’t even think was possible. This time, he was wearing a gray t-shirt and shorts and black slip on sneakers that his heels were sticking out of. His thick dark hair was hidden by the blue cap he wore. Lance watched as he yanked the cap off and tied his hair up into a small bun before jumping out of the fishing boat onto the dock.

Mystery boy and his brother, Mr. Large Muscles, visited Hamilton every year. And every year, Lance watched from the shadows as Mystery boy rowed his small boat through the cove under the cliff, craving more and more to speak to him. Unconsciously, he swished his tail under the water, which only irritated him more. It wasn’t that he hated being a merman- in fact, he loved it. There was something so freeing about being able to swim below the surface and hide from predators eyes. He loved his Pod, his little family unit that lived just below the cove inside the cliff. He adored being able to speak to the starfish that clung to the rocks of the mountainside and he had friends who traveled the world, insisting that once he went beyond the reef of Bermuda, he’d find a whole world ready for him to explore.

But today? Today, Lance wanted legs. Human legs, so he could follow Mystery boy wherever he went on the island.

And this year, he would finally get them.

On a mer’s eighteenth birthday, they’re given the ultimate gift of all: human legs. Mother nature spoils her half-fish ocean dwelling children and grants them the ability to change their tail for legs, at will, for the duration of their birth month. And it just so happened that Lance’s birth month was set to begin the following day. Which meant that in just twenty four hours, he would be walking the sandy shores of Hamilton on his very own human legs- hopefully, with Mystery boy at his side.

“Can you believe it?” Lance asked excitedly. He jumped back off the rock, diving under the water and pulling Hunk down with him. “Human legs, Hunk!”

“With a catch,” Hunk reminded. “If you come anywhere near water, you’re done for. No more human legs, ever.”

He scoffed, waving his hand through the water. “Not to worry. I plan on staying dry as a desert for the entirety of July. No way am I messing this up for a quick swim.”

Hunk sighed. “I hope so. I just…” He trailed off, glancing down at his hands. “I don’t want you to lose this gift.”

He smiled, rushing to his friend’s side to pull him into a hug. “I won’t,” he swore. He laughed before grabbing his friend’s hand and yanking him towards the entrance of the cove. “Let’s go,” he called. “We don’t want to miss the birthday celebrations!” His fins flipped happily as he raced under the archway and into the Pod’s cavern.  


 

* * *

 

Keith kicked his legs up on the rear of the boat as he leaned back, resting his head on the opposite side. He had stuck a balled up towel under his head and closed his eyes, content to relax as the boat rocked back and forth on the gentle water. He had been looking for Blue Angel for the better part of five hours and at this point, he was almost certain the merman wouldn’t show before the day was over. So he allowed himself a small break, resting his tired eyes and exhausted limbs as he let the boat float in the cove.

“I thought the point of the rowboat was to, you know, row it.” A voice, light and full of teasing mirth, rang out along the cavern walls.

Keith sat up quickly, turning to see a boy walking along the edge of the wall. He had short, wavy brown hair that hung a little bit in his face. Freckles littered his nose and upper cheeks, sitting underneath the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. He shot a grin at Keith from across the cove and he felt as if the bottom of the boat had just given out, plunging him into the cold water. The boy was humming lightly, walking lazily along the sand and staring up at the high roof of the cavern. His gaze turned back on Keith, and he realized with a jolt that the boy was waiting for him to speak.

“Uh… yeah,” he replied. He blinked and put a hand to his head, mentally berating himself over letting the cute boy distract him. “I mean, I was rowing. I got tired and stopped.” Better, he thought.

“Ah,” Cute boy hummed. “I see. What are you doing out here then?”

Keith narrowed his eyes cautiously. He couldn’t tell the other boy what he was waiting for. What if he told him about Blue Angel and the boy laughed in face? Or worse, what if he wanted to hurt the mer for some reason or another? “I was just relaxing,” he settled on. “It’s quiet out here. More peaceful, you know?”

The boy held his gaze for just a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “Sure,” he said. He was walking down the pier towards the edge of the dock and towards Keith’s boat. He sat down a few feet away, crossing his legs and stretching his hand out above the water. “I’m Lance, by the way.”

Keith grabbed the boy’s outstretched hand and shook it gently. “Keith. Nice to meet you.” He let go of Lance’s hand after a few seconds and looked down at the water shyly. After a few seconds, he leaned back against the boat and felt it float a few inches away from the pier. “So, what are you doing out here?”

Lance leaned back on his hands and looked out at the bay. “Just exploring.”

“Are you from around here?” If Lance was from the island, there was a good chance he knew about Blue Angel being spotted here, and Keith wanted to know as much information as he could.

“Nah,” Lance replied easily. “I live nearby, but not on the mainland.”

He felt his excitement sizzle out at Lance’s words. “Ah,” was all he said. They sat in peaceful silence for a while, neither of them saying much to disrupt the eerie peace of the cove.

“You’re not from around here.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement.

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “No,” he responded. “How did you know that?”

Lance turned to look at him, a small smile on his face. He pointed to Keith’s head. “Your hat says “Coney Island” on the back.”

“Oh.” He tugged the hat down a little further at the words. “Yeah. My brother and I are from New York.”

“That’s quite a trip,” he said. He waved his hand around at the rock above them. “What brings you to Hamilton? It’s not exactly a tourist spot.”

“My brother fishes here and we trade-”

Lance held up his hand. “No, no. Not your brother. What brings you here?” He pats the pier and gestures to the cove. “Why do you really come out here? Because I don’t think it’s to relax.”

After a few quiet seconds, Keith grabs the oar to the boat and pulls. “You know, it’s getting late. My brother is probably wondering where I am.”

He attempts to pull on the oar before seeing it was wedged in between two large rocks. He stands and tries to yank the oar out, but only succeeds in wedging it deeper. Keith takes one step backwards, roughly pulling on it with all his strength. The oar pops free of the rocks, and the momentum throws him back a few steps. He hits the edge of the rowboat and tumbles into the water. The boat flips over from the force of his fall, trapping him underneath.

As Keith attempts to push the boat off of him, a sharp jolt of fear shoots through him. Because against everyone’s advice, he never learned how to swim. There was never a need to learn in New York City, and it had felt like a waste of time. Now, as he paddles underneath the boat, he realizes what a colossal, horrible mistake that had been. The boat was too heavy for him to lift on his own, and the cove was deeper than it appeared. The ocean floor was miles beneath him, and he had nothing to push off of to propel himself back to the pier, which was easily thirty feet away.

In short? He was stuck, helplessly floating in the water and clinging to the overturned boat.

Keith wasn’t one to panic in an emergency. Normally, he was calm and kept a clear head when dealing with a problem. But the similarities between his current situation and his first (and only) near death experience were starting to get to him, and he could feel the anxiety rise in his chest as the water engulfed him. He gave the boat one final push, hoping to tip it back over. When it barely budged, he let out a frustrated yell, hitting the side of it angrily.

“Damn it!”

There was a splash behind from outside the boat, and then a shadow swimming just below his feet. He kicked, attempting to push away from whatever creature was about to attack, and went numb when it latched onto his ankle. There was a tug as it tried to pull him into the water and away from the boat, and a scream settled in his throat.

“Stop being a big baby,” said Lance. The boy stuck his head up from the water, hair soaked and dripping in his face. He grinned, and pried Keith’s hands from where he was attached to the rowboat. “Come on,” he whispered, pulling gently on his hands. “I’ve got you.”

He let Lance pull him to shore, the boy easily crossing the thirty feet like it was nothing. He pulled Keith onto the sand of the cove before backing away and submerging himself back in the water. Keith sat up and turned to thank Lance-

Who was now sporting a scale-covered tail. A rather blue, scale-covered tail, in fact.

“It’s you,” he gasped. “Blue Angel.”

Lance smiled, but his hands were folding and unfolding nervously. “That’s what they call me.”

“I-” Keith stuttered. “You- you saved me.” He laughed in surprise, throwing his hands up then hitting the sand. “Again!”

Blue eyes shot to Keith at his words and Lance’s smile turned confused. “Again?”

He nodded quickly. “I don’t know if you remember this but…” he trailed. off, clearing his throat before starting again. “When I was eight, I fell out of my brothers boat right outside of Hamilton Bay. I couldn’t swim and the current pulled me away from the boat.” He kept his gaze locked on Lance as he continued, daring him to look away. “I thought I was going to die. But you saved me.”

“Oh my god.” Lance edged closer to shoreline, moving towards Keith unconsciously. “You were the drowning boy. Of course I remember. How could I forget?” He stayed near the edge of the pier, floating in the shallow water. His tail fins swayed through the water behind him as he floated there, keeping him in place. “I can’t believe that was you.”

Keith stood, walking to the edge of the pier and closer to Lance. He moved back anxiously and he stopped walking. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want a closer look.” Lance nodded at that, moving back to his original position. Keith sat at the edge of the pier, his feet dangling over the side. “I can’t believe I found you.” He tapped Lance’s head lightly, laughing when he grumbled. “You asked me why I was out here? I was looking for you.” Keith gestured to the cove around them and smiled. “You brought me here.”

Lance smiled at that, reaching his hand up to hold Keith’s on the pier. “Well in that case,” he said. “I’m glad I saved your life all those years ago. I’m glad you’re actually here.”

They sat in peaceful silence for a few moments, hands still intertwined. Lance nudged their hands against Keith’s thigh and waited for the boy to look at him. “Yeah?” he asked.

“If you’re going to keep coming here,” he said. His voice was light and cheerful, and he had a teasing smile on his face. “Promise me you’ll learn how to swim.”

Keith chuckled. He reached down at the water, splashing Lance lightly. “Yeah, yeah. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> MerMay overtook the internet and i just had participate! i might write a second part to this, kind of like a follow up in which the whole team is present? if you guys would like to see that, i’d love to know!
> 
> as always, comments and kudos endlessly appreciated :)


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